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The Other Tiger: History, Beliefs, and Rituals in Borneo

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The Other Tiger: History, Beliefs, and Rituals in Borneo The Other Tiger : History, Beliefs, and Rituals in Borneo Bernard Sellato To cite this version: Bernard Sellato. The Other Tiger : History, Beliefs, and Rituals in Borneo. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies –Yusof Ishak Institute, 2019. halshs-02173873 HAL Id: halshs-02173873 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-02173873 Submitted on 27 Jun 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. The Other Tiger. History, Beliefs, and Rituals in Borneo Bernard Sellato# Un tercer tigre buscaremos. Éste será como los otros una forma de mi sueño, un sistema de palabras humanas y no el tigre vertebrado que, más allá de las mitologías, pisa la tierra. Bien lo sé, pero algo me impone esta aventura indefinida, insensata y antigua, y persevero en buscar por el tiempo de la tarde el otro tigre, el que no está en el verso. Jorge Luis Borges, “El otro tigre” (1960) In what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thine eyes? William Blake (1757–1827) INTRODUCTION So far as is known today, the true tiger, Panthera tigris (L.), does not (any longer) exist in Borneo. Among the island‟s indigenous peoples, however, the tiger has a significant reality in historical traditions, folk literature, myths, beliefs, and rituals. The present study endeavors to seek out this “other tiger” in some of these peoples‟ “systems of human words” (J.L. Borges, above). It originates from my earlier (1983) article, focusing mainly on a set of minor ethnic groups of the eastern and western slopes of the Müller mountain range, in the center of the island – the Aoheng and their neighbors, pro parte deriving from nomadic hunter-gatherers. Much has appeared in press subsequently on the theme of the tiger, though Borneo has remained quite marginal in comprehensive studies such as Robert Wessing‟s thorough work on Java and across Southeast Asia, Peter Boomgaard‟s on the Malay world, or Jet Bakels‟ on Sumatra (Map 1). Much of what these authors wrote of the tiger elsewhere or in general has relevance to Borneo, bar the current presence of live tigers there. I found it particularly interesting to investigate the roles and functions of the tiger in societies not actually sharing their living space with the real animal. Quite a substantial portion of the Borneo data presented and used here derives from my own field notes spanning more than four decades, the balance mostly comprising tiny pieces of tiger information scattered in dozens of published or unpublished studies dedicated to other topics – which explains the large reference list appended. Map 1: Borneo in Southeast Asia; inset: the wider Müller Mts. region, see Map 3 (source: Sellato 1989: 6). This study is primarily centered on the ethnic groups of the Müller Mountains, resorting to data about other groups whenever deemed useful, in agreement or divergence (Map 2). These data are mainly extracted from the literature on the Central Borneo area (as defined by Rousseau 1990, and reduced to groups speaking Kayanic languages) and on groups of the Barito language cluster (as defined by Hudson 1967). Both the “Kayanic-speaking” and “Barito-speaking” peoples robustly influenced the languages and cultures of the Müller-Schwaner groups, their close neighbors. Data from farther afield within Borneo also are called upon when relevant, as well as data from unsystematic forays into the literature on regions beyond Borneo (e.g., Sumatra, Java, Peninsular Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam). This paper is not intended as a historical study, neither is it meant as an anthropological synthesis. Rather, its purpose is to combine all sorts of available materials to, ultimately, beyond the tiger, try and shed some light on “ancient belief systems” and the modalities of their evolution through time and cultural contact. Section 1 surveys the diverse species of wild cats in Borneo, the specific names given to the tiger in local languages, and the physical evidence of tiger body parts among interior communities, and it examines the possibility of remaining tigers in remote corners of the island. Section 2 reviews representations of the tiger in the oral literature of indigenous Borneo societies, highlighting its widespread value as a symbol of martial manliness and, among the Aoheng and related groups, its regional standing as a culture hero who brought them “civilization”; it then looks at the broader religious beliefs surrounding the Aoheng tiger, discusses the thin boundary between its animal and spiritual nature and, due to this Map 2: Ethnic groups on Borneo:1 Bidayuh and related groups: 1 Bakati', 2 Jagoi, 3 Jangkang, 4 Lundu, 5 Sadong, 6 Semandang; “Barito” and related groups: a) Western groups: 7 Gerai, 8 Kanayatn (Kendayan), 9 Kebahan, 10 Keninjal, 11 Limbai, 12 Mentebah, 13 Pawan, 14 Selako, 15 Simpang, 16 Tebidah; b) Southern groups: 17 Bentian, 18 Benua', 19 Kohin, 20 Luangan, 21 Ma'anyan, 22 Murung, 23 Ngaju, 24 Ot (Uut) Danum, 25 Paser, 26 Sebaun, 27 Siang, 28 Tamoan, 29 Tawoyan, 30 Tunjung; Nomadic groups: 31 Beketan, 32 Bukat, Buket, 33 Hovongan (Punan Bungan), 34 Kerého (Punan Keriau), 35 Lisum (Punan Tabang), 36 Penan (eastern), 37 Penan (western), 38 Punan Batu and Basap, 39 Punan Haput, 40 Punan Kelai and Punan Segah, 41 Punan Lusong, 42 Punan Murung, 43 Punan Sekatak, 44 Punan Tubu and Punan Malinau; Central northern groups: 45 Abai of Sesayap River, 46 Berawan, 47 Bulungan, 48 Bulusu' (Berusu'), 49 Kajang, 50 Kanowit, 51 Kelabit, 52 Kolor (Okolod), 53 Lengilu', 54 Lun Bawang, 55 Lun Daye(h), 56 Melanau, 57 Tagal (Tahol), 58 Tidung, 59 Timugon, 60 Tingalan; Iban and related groups: 61 Desa, 62 Iban (western Sarawak), 63 Iban (Rejang River), 64 Iban (eastern Sarawak), 65 Kantu', 66 Mualang, 67 Seberuang; Kayan, Kenyah, and related groups: 68 Aoheng, 69 Bahau, 70 Busang, 71 Kayan (east coast), 72 Kayan (Mendalam), 73 Kayan (Sarawak), 74 Kenyah (east coast), 75 Kenyah (Apo Kayan and Sarawak), 76 Kenyah (Bahau and Malinau River), 77 Merap, 78 Modang and Ga'ai (Segai); Northeastern groups: 79 Bajau (west coast), 80 Bisaya, 81 Bonggi, 82 Dusun, 83 Ida'an, 84 Kadazan, 85 Orang Sungei, 86 Rungus, 87 Tambunan, 88 Tempasuk; “Malay” groups: 89 Banjar, 90 Banjar Hulu, 91 Bekumpai, 92 Berau Malays, 93 Brunei and Kadayan, 94 Ketapang Malays, 95 Kotawaringin Malays, 96 Kutai, 97 Malays (other), 98 Meratus (or Bukit), 99 Pontianak Malays, 100 Sambas Malays, 101 Sarawak Malays; Others: 102 Bajau (Sama) Laut sea nomads, 103 Bugis and Makassar (from South Sulawesi), 104 Taman, Kalis, Embaloh, 105 Tausug (from southern Philippines). (source: Sellato 2012d: xiv - xv). 1 This map proposes an approach to Borneo‟s cultural and linguistic history (see Sellato 2012d: xiv). It is used here to help the reader locate ethnic groups mentioned in the text. ambivalence, its common function as a mediator between the human and spiritual worlds; finally, it examines various cases, excerpted from oral traditions, of human-tiger hybridization and its offspring. Section 3, focusing on indigenous societies‟ rituals, stresses both the tiger‟s benevolent features, such as initiation, redemption, and purification, and its sinister facets, such as the diverse forms of punishment for breach of taboo, both meant to warrant a “cool” socio- cosmic balance; and it inspects the various transpositions of the tiger‟s name (dragon, dog, bear, thunder). Section 4, returning to the tiger‟s function as culture hero, investigates the historical background of the Aoheng and related groups and identifies a real regional chieftain named Tiger who, in the early nineteenth century, played a crucial role in urging bands of forest nomads to settle down and start farming, which was instrumental in the ensuing emergence of the Aoheng cluster‟s ethnocultural identity; it then briefly explores the modalities of the myth- generating conflation of historical elements with earlier religious beliefs. Section 5 scrutinizes the complex relationship of the tiger with the moon and the thunder/lightning; it suggests the pre- existence among former nomads of non-dualistic beliefs in a “tiger-moon-thunder” set of deities, which agglomerated with two separate farming societies‟ distinctive cosmogonic beliefs to become what is observed today among Aoheng and related groups; it touches briefly on the question of the so-called “thunder complex”; and it closes on remarks about ambiguity and variability, reflecting, respectively, the systemic cultural plasticity and singular cultural histories of these societies. 1. TIGERS, PAST AND PRESENT There are in Borneo today a small number of Felidae (cat) species, known to and named by local hunters, prominent among which is the Clouded leopard. However, local languages also have a name for the tiger, which is not known to exist in Borneo today (Fig. 1). Interisland trade networks have brought to Borneo various tiger body parts (fangs, pelts), which became familiar to local people. Recent zooarchaeological research has established that the tiger remained a resident to Borneo well into the recent Holocene, while ongoing genetic studies may now be leading to taxonomic revisions. Fig. 1: Javan Tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) in 1938 at Ujung Kulon (West Java); source: Hoogerwerf 1970 (Wikimedia Commons). 1.1. Borneo Cats, Small and Big To date, five species of wild Felidae have been discovered living in Borneo.2 The Clouded leopard of Borneo – Neofelis nebulosa, Neofelis diardi, Pardofelis nebulosa – was recently, based on molecular evidence, reclassified as an endemic subspecies of the Sunda clouded leopard, Neofelis diardi, and renamed N.
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